Solar panels

Saw on TV news report last night about solar panel installation. Apparently, there's a tax discount for this. Local facility will do a 30 sq. ft. installation with needed wiring and panel modifications for about $22K. City of Austin, TX offers a $13K discount as well. Must be done by a contractor, not a do it yourself. If so, no discount.

Am waiting for a installation kit for the DIY guy. Possibly with support from a qualified electrician for installing panels to reintroduce power to the power company to allow supplying the grid and get discount on same. Hopefully, less expensive. Would like to do the majority of the south facing roof in solar panels. No obstructions on that side of the roof. Would like to see support from the home insurance industry for replacement in event of severe hail, and otherwise for fire and such. Would also like to see this in new home contract as an option at minimum, embedding the wiring and panels as part of the normal electrical plans. Perhaps, leaving out all but the solar panel installation itself if the owner wants same later. And, standardization throughout it all. Dave

Reply to
Dave
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I don't believe it will ever be a DIY kit simply because of the possible dangers with high voltage electricity involved. You will always have to hire a licensed (insured, too!) electrician to do all the connections properly. I would guess you might offer your help in climbing the roof and helping with physically installing the panels but the electrician will have to go by what his insurance company tells him: he may not even be able to have you involved in the install at all.

D~

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Reply to
thestuccocompany.com

Just my observation. I went to seminars on solar panels and they just aren't ready for prime time. Even the presenter at one seminar was very candid that right now this is "feel good" stuff and using current technology you won't even recover the installation cost. This is just politicians throwing our money away because they all seem to be afraid to advocate conservation. The tax discounts and subsidies come out of our pockets.

Reply to
George

At least in my part of the country (PNW), photovoltaic panels are not a break-even project. But solar hot water appears to be economically quite viable, even if just used as a pre=heat for a regular water heater.

The other issue with PV (or other emerging technologies) is that if no one invests early on, the technology probably isn't going to develop any farther. :-/

We're in the process of designing a house, so we've been doing a lot of checking on such things. At least for us, a heavily sun-tempered design with solar water heating is looking like fast payback design.

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Solar heating of water is quite common in Italy. My observations while touring the country while on furlough in the Navy. The visual cue is on their roofs. Dave

Reply to
Dave

Seems to always boil down to 2 things (sex not included for this topic), money and power. Money gets them voted in, they don't want to relinquish their power once in.

Doesn't speak for home insurance slow to act on their part though. Dave

Reply to
Dave

A friend has a home made solar water heater here in the UK (not known for it's sunny weather). It doesn't eliminate the need for a conventional boiler but it seems to do a good job of pre-heating the water so reducing the bill.

Reply to
CWatters

There are some new solar heating gadgets that are more efficient and less obvious. I'm thinking of buying an evacuated tube collector to play with, just to see what it does under our conditions. Looks like a reasonable design for radiant floor heat, though I might need a greenhouse as a place to dump excess heat (twist my arm!!! )

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PV for running a water pump for a solar heat collector also looks like reasonable payback. PV in "off the grid" amounts is still iffy, judging from the data I've been able to collect around here. (BTW, our climate is much like that of London, England --we don't get huge temperature swings like continental climates.) Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

Well, I have done some research in this area. What you say may have been true a few years ago. They have improved this technology. I considered staying off of the grid because I built my house about a 1/2 mile from the grid. I chickened out because the region I live in does not have enough yearly sun exposure. I live in Maine. I do have some friends and acquaintances though that do have total solar. They supplement with generators. They do have to live a tad bit differently. They do not have toasters, electric dyers, refrigerators. They do their laundry at a Laundromat. The instead cook with propane.... they have a propane fridge. They pump water on sunny days into a large cistern. One gut I know has a pick up truck with a bank of batteries. He drives to work and when he comes home he plugs his truck into the house to offer more power. he also has a lot of battery operated devices. He likes being independent and also loves it when storms blow through and everyone loses power except him. I think people should let the government supplement people and the solar. Other choices with solar could be a hybrid system. We need to reduce our dependence on oil especially foreign oil. We are all too spoiled and waste so much oil on electricity. We waste a lot of resources on things like Christmas lights and the like.

Reply to
M

If it were REALLY about reducing dependence on foriegn oil in a SIGNIFICANT way we would be building nuclear power plants everywhere. (Like Europe is)The Navy has been using them on ships and subs for 50 years with no problems. CHEAP ABUNDANT CLEAN POWER...... Instead we get theses feel good TAXPAYER financed programs. Like the original poster who wants the state,feds and insurance company to fund his solar panels that will never be cost effective so he can FEEL GOOD or the total BS ethanol which is no more than sweet deal for farmers at taxpayers expense because IT WILL NEVER BE COST EFFECTIVE. Don't even get me started on hybrid cars and Carbon Offset Payments.....

And to the guy from Maine...who the hell are you to decide how much power anyone uses? Do you live in a Teepee and ride a bike to work or do you just like to lecture other people to feel superior like your buddy Al Gore and the rest of the Limosine Liberals??? Let me guess..Do as I say not as I do , right??? Moron...

I'm from Maine too... Ever on AMG???

Reply to
benick

Having been in the U.S. Navy and retired, I see your point. Having servicing weapons systems that use depleted uranium for warheads, and later in my career, researching exactly what this material is and its physical effects on people other than what the U.S. Navy provides as information, I disagree for the present time.

Depleted uranium originates from nuclear power plants as a waste. Nor, do I agree with the method of storing such used material for some generation down the line to fix it. If its ever to happen or possible.

Is there an alternative to such relatively "free energy", no. But doesn't alter the facts. I'm tired of the last 3 generations dumping on their subsequent generations for their oversights of technology. Gotta stop someplace as its becoming cumulative from one generation to the next. Some generation needs to start with a clean slate, not all their previous generations mistakes on their back to boot. Leave my great grand-kids outta this. Dave

Reply to
Dave

Rural Texan here. No Xmas lights, no one to impress (the purpose of). My wastes consist of:

Falling asleep during a DVD movie, waking up to the initial DVD menu screen.

Using a clothes dryer. Haven't gotten around to putting up the clothesline yet.

Using 2 night-lights to negotiate around the house at night when I get home from work.

Failing to buy flourescent bulbs for my incandescent versions. Seldom use these incandescents as light source.

Failing to open all the windows and use fresh air all the time. Set the AC thermostat at 80 degrees F. Hasn't kicked in till around 2 pm earliest.

Using electric weed trimmer to trim grass around house, fence and walk areas. Electric fence (battery/solar powered) on fence requires trimming foliage from it so it won't discharge on the foliage. Line is 6" above the ground. Keeps the dogs from digging under the fence. Considered trimming by hand, fence it too lengthy.

Water well pump is 240VAC. Sometimes irrigate the lawn using this water supply. Once a month, I take a hot vs. a shower. Electric water heater, dual tanks.

Pump 35 gallons of water a day via the water well pump to flush the aerator filtration system of sulfuric acid. Its purpose it to remove hydrogen sulfide gas from the well water. The water goes to some live oak trees downstream and St. Augustine grass. Both in vicinity of the french drain that this drain goes to.

Use warm water to wash my clothing vice cold water.

Usually turn off my computer when done. Once in awhile, I don't.

End of electrical use waste comments...

Sound like a TV commercial. We need to end our dependency on oil period, bud. Along with that, plastics, and all products made in China. Recyclable materials for reuse for production as steel is today. Would like to thank President Nixon to President Bush (SR.), inclusive, for selling out to China.. Products are inexpensive, but, all the jobs for making such products are gone. Dave

Reply to
Dave

If PV stuff made sense people would buy it with their own money. The government doesn't have any money. It all comes from our pockets.

Other

Absolutely, It would take lots and lots of alternative sources just to balance all of the energy wasted by people driving 5 ton trucks as personal vehicles and 6,000 square foot houses.

Reply to
George

How much? Unless there's been a tremendous breakthrough, it's like the guy said, "not ready for primetime", even out west. Unless, of course, you're willing to live like Ted Kazansky.

Reply to
Matt Barrow

Agreed! Agreed! Agreed!

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(Links to amazon.com - "The Nuclear Energy Option", which a bit dated (mid 90's) dispells a lot of myths with what was the state-of-the-art in nuclear generation ten years ago).

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Want to cut gasoline usage by 15-20%? Get cities and towns to syncronzie traffic signals.

I originally came from the road construction business (1975-1998). According to a 1978 report (during the Carter energy fiasco), merely sync'ing traffic signals would cut fuel usage by those amounts. Another similar report in the early 80s stated much the same in conjuction with traffic safety. It claimed about 40% of road deaths were due to "faulty" signals.

In the intervening years, it's gotten worse. Towns now use out-of-sync lights in conjunction with traffic scams ...I mean CAMS, to bilk motorists (can you say 7 second yellows now are 4.5 seconds and turn when you're 100 feet away? Sure you can).

Of course, the towns would have to forrgo about $12 billion in traffic fine revenue, and they could not longer use the gridlock plight as an argument for more money, personnel, "studies", etc. Also, they wouldn't kill about

12,000 people a year.

Of course, the money is more inmportant than a mere 12,000 citizens.

Matt B.

Reply to
Matt Barrow

That should be:

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Reply to
Matt Barrow

Could you elaborate on that?

Storage, though a tough problem, is not the boogy man you make it out to be.

If France, Japan and so many others can do it. so can we.

Reply to
Matt Barrow

...

Before you invest in CFL bulbs, take a gander at this:

The CFL mercury nightmare

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Reply to
Matt Barrow

You did not read my post thoroughly. I am talking about hybriding a solar paneled system to a house. I am not talking about hybrid cars. I did not choose the solar paneled system. I mentioned Maine because of the lack of daily sunshine for it to be truly an effective power source. They have more days of sunshine in places like Arizona. When I say days of sunshine I am speaking in terms of days through out a year where the solar panels can collect power. There is no need to bring politics into this as I am neither a liberal or a conservative. Solar power does work even in the state of Maine where there are less days of sun. I am not telling anyone to use less electricity. I was just stating that Christmas lights ARE wasteful. Sure I put up a Christmas tree. BUT.. When I see a house decorated to the hilt with 1000's of light bulbs it seems kind of greedy. I drive a car that gets

29mpg. I live 5 miles from work. I walk on fair weatehered days and sometimes I ride my small motor bike to work. In winter there is a cross country skiing trail that I can ski on to go to work. I have done that too. The nation as a whole could do more besides building nuclear power plants and subsidizing solar systems. We need to be imaginative and be willing to do our part to help.
Reply to
M

Wanna "do your part" to cut co2 emmisions??? stop breathing.....

Reply to
benick

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